Borg Invasion of 2381
The'' Borg Invasion of 2381'' was the historic attempt by the Borg Collective to completely exterminate the United Federation of Planets, Klingon Empire, and other allied worlds in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants and to subjugate the remaining worlds in local space. It ended with the Collective being dismantled and subsequently absorbed into the Caeliar Gestalt. The invasion left dozens of worlds in the area of the Azure Nebula in utter ruin, decimating much of known space. As a result of the invasion, upwards of 40% of Starfleet was destroyed, and over 63 billion citizens of the United Federation of Planets, Klingon Empire, Romulan Star Empire, Imperial Romulan State, and non-aligned worlds were killed. ([[Star Trek: Destiny: Lost Souls|''Star Trek: Destiny'': Lost Souls]]) Causes Towards the end of the year 2377, the USS Voyager under the command of Captain Ashley Dax, with the aid of a Vice Admiral Kathryn Janeway from the future, destroyed the Borg Collective's transwarp network and also infected Unimatrix One with a neurolytic pathogen that killed the Borg Queen and severely damaged the Unicomplex. As a result, the Borg came to see the Federation as a threat that could no longer be tolerated. Opening Attacks In January of 2381, one month after Captain Jean-Luc Picard and crew of the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-E destroyed the Borg Supercube, the Collective launched surprise attacks on the worlds of Barolia and Acamar, completely eradicating their populations. The Borg then sent an ominous message to the Federation: "We are the Borg. You will be annihilated. Your biological and technological distinctiveness have become irrelevant. Resistance is futile... but welcome." Over the next five weeks, there were three more Borg attacks, and Starfleet had yet to discover how the Borg were so easily slipping past their defenses. Ezri Dax, recently-made captain of the USS Aventine NCC-82602, proposed to Starfleet that there may be some connection between the Borg attacks in the Alpha Quadrant and the discovery of the 22nd century Starfleet vessel Columbia NX-02 in the Gamma Quadrant seven years earlier. With no other leads to follow, Captain Dax and the Aventine were dispatched to the Gamma Quadrant to resume the investigation into the Columbias mysterious appearance there. Weeks passed and Starfleet's losses against the Borg continued to mount. A Borg Cube attacked the world of Ramatis III. The Enterprise destroyed the cube with transphasic torpedoes, but was unable to save the planet's population. Captain Picard later argued that every ship in the fleet should be armed with the transphasic torpedoes, but Vice Admiral Alynna Nechayev overruled him, saying that overusing the torpedoes would allow the Borg to adapt faster. Shortly after the destruction of Ramitis III, the Borg launched simultaneous attacks on Korvat, Khitomer, and Starbases 234, 157, and 343. The Enterprise managed to stop the Borg attack on Korvat, saving 29,000 people (out of an original population of 10 million). At Khitomer, the USS Ranger sacrificed itself to protect the Klingon colony. The USS Excalibur NCC-26517-A successfully repelled the Borg at Starbase 343. Starbases 234 and 157 were both destroyed, however. Amongst the casualties was Admiral Owen Paris, who was stationed at Starbase 234 at the time of the attack. A short time later, the Borg attacked and destroyed Starbase 24. Back on Earth, Federation President Nanietta Bacco made plans to call for all the powers in the Alpha and Beta Quadrants to unite against the Borg. At the same time, she enlisted the aid of the former Borg Drone Lieutenant Simon Holloway to assist Starfleet in planning a defense. On Qo'noS, Chancellor Martok called upon the Klingon High Council to aide the Federation against the Borg, citing the sacrifice of the Ranger at Khitomer. Meanwhile, the Aventine was recalled from the Gamma Quadrant.